Amanda Browder

Plush and stuffed creations from the colorful imagination of a Brooklyn-based artist

When looking at one of Amanda Browder's colorful installations or plush creations, one can't help but smile. Working from often recycled materials and fabrics, the Brooklyn-based artist creates her patchwork world of sculptures and objects including everything from a stuffed gorilla barfing glittery strings to a monumental, quilted waterfall draped over the Tobacco Warehouse in Brooklyn. Imaginative, interactive and often oversized, Browder's work walks the thin line between fine art and everyday object.

One of the recurring themes throughout Browder's work is the clash between outside and inside, as she explores the tension by recreating the objects that we associate with each space with unexpected materials. Fabric is an especially important material to Browder because it "has its own code and associations," she says. "When you create something with fabric, those feelings come into the object." Browder showcases her playful sense of humor in creations from living room-sized icebergs to monstrous fabric pencils.

One of Browder's stuffed creations is a tongue-in-cheek set of faux fur logs and felt fire, perfectly sized for snuggling. Creating a precarious play between comfort and danger, Browder wanted to compose something to showcase how paradoxically the two somehow coalesce. The fire from each set is intended as a plaything and can also be removed and be worn as a headband.

Browder's Logs and Fire sets can be purchased through Browder's online shop for $300. For more information about the artist and upcoming exhibitions, you can also check out her website.